


Overcooked

by Kika988



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-07-11 20:11:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19933813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kika988/pseuds/Kika988
Summary: "Well, my human metabolism can't keep up with the amount of take-out we've been eating," Shiro says. "We're going to learn how to cook." When Keith still looks unsure, he pouts a little, because he may be a grown-ass man, but he's also technically only had six birthdays and he's not afraid to exploit that every once in a while. "Please? It'll be fun, and we don't get to spend enough time together anymore."He canseethe moment Keith crumbles.Shiro signs Keith and himself up for a cooking class. What could go wrong?





	Overcooked

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Patch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Patch/gifts).



> Many thanks to Patch who asked for some soft Sheith, and to Kelsey for the beta! Title is from the video game -- if you're not familiar with it, it's a cooperative play game in which you and at least one other person team up to cook meals. It seemed fitting for obvious reasons.

"We're doing what?" Keith asks, dumbfounded. 

"Going to a cooking class," Shiro repeats happily. "Starting next Thursday. I made sure our duty schedules are both cleared for it, though of course if the Blades have something come up, that can't be helped." 

"Why?" Keith asks, then frowns. "Wait, is this about your check-up last week?"

"No!" Shiro says instantly, then winces. "Okay, maybe a little. Ten pounds!"

Keith rolls his eyes, sliding over into Shiro's lap. "Shiro, we talked about this. The doctor himself said it was perfectly healthy. It makes _sense_ that we'll put on some weight now that we're not fighting constantly."

" _You haven't," Shiro points out._

Keith shrugs. "Galra metabolism, I guess."

"Well, my human metabolism can't keep up with the amount of take-out we've been eating," Shiro says. "We're going to learn how to cook." When Keith still looks unsure, he pouts a little, because he may be a grown-ass man, but he's also technically only had six birthdays and he's not afraid to exploit that every once in a while. "Please? It'll be fun, and we don't get to spend enough time together anymore." 

He can _see_ the moment Keith crumbles. 

"Fine," he sighs. "But I still say the ten pounds is a good thing," he adds stubbornly, then drags Shiro to the bedroom to spend the next several hours convincing him of that fact.

* * *

The first night of the 6-week class, the teacher introduces herself as Roberta. She's vaguely retirement-aged with curly brown hair, thick glasses, and a pleasant smile, and is the holder of a very firm belief that everyone should know their way around the basics of a kitchen. She spends the first ten minutes going over safety precautions and explaining what they'll be cooking — a basic one-pan meal of roasted chicken and root vegetables.

"Easy enough," Shiro scoffs. Keith doesn't look convinced, but he gamely sets about chopping potatoes and carrots as instructed. 

"The secret of every good cook is fearless seasoning," Roberta proclaims. "However much you think it needs, it probably needs a little more than that." 

Shiro takes that advice to heart, while Keith watches on with wide eyes. 

45 minutes later, Keith taps at his chicken with a fork. 

"Is it supposed to have a sort of… _crust_ of seasoning?" he asks Roberta when she comes by to check on them. Her eyebrows nearly meet her hairline as she takes in their pan. 

"Ah, no," she says gently. "No, it isn't." She takes the fork and gently pries up the layer of congealed garlic, pepper, paprika, and salt. "There… that might be a bit bland, but probably the best option at this point."

Shiro pouts the entire time they're eating, despite Keith's best attempts to cheer him up.

"Don't worry about it, babe," he says, making a point to eat every bite on his plate. "It's just the first week. Next time will go better."

* * *

The next week Keith gets called away on a last-minute Blades mission, so Shiro sucks it up and goes alone. 

The fire alarms in the building disagree with Keith's optimistic assessment about the next week going better.

* * *

"Soups," Roberta says the next week, "are a staple of every kitchen's repertoire." 

Shiro tries to convince himself that she didn't choose soup for this week just because it's less flammable than steak.

To his own surprise, though, their creamy chicken and wild rice soup actually turns out pretty good. Sure, the rice is a little crunchy, but the pressure cooker had a lot of fiddly parts, okay?

"This was a waste of money, wasn't it?" Shiro says, sighing. 

"No way," Keith says firmly. "Shiro, we literally pilot intergalactic space vessels. We can figure out a pressure cooker next time. The seasoning in this is really good," he adds, pointedly crunching through another bite. 

Shiro sticks his hand in his pocket and stares down at his bowl, as if reconsidering the whole cooking class idea.

* * *

Week 4 is all about pasta, a subject Shiro feels very strongly about — especially when Roberta reveals they will be making homemade macaroni and cheese. He gives the meal his full attention, with Keith playing sous chef, handing him utensils and ingredients as needed. 

The approving nod he gets from Roberta when she checks his noodles for the right al dente texture feels _almost_ as validating as when the Black Lion first responded to him.

He follows the recipe to the letter — no improvising, even when his refusal to add more black pepper earns him a pout from Keith. Usually Keith's pout is enough to make him crumble, but a man has to have a line in the sand, and Shiro's line is fucking up this mac and cheese, okay?

It turns out _delicious_.

"Shiro," Keith says, his tone nothing sort of awe after he swallows his first bite. "Shiro, this is _good_."

"It is," Shiro agrees, something like disbelief in his face.

* * *

Week 5 takes them both by surprise. 

"I used to include a meal from another culture in my curriculum in an attempt to broaden my students' horizons," Roberta explains. "Now our horizons are broader than ever, though, so tonight's recipe involves ingredients from other planets!" There's a low murmur of surprise around the room, and both Shiro and Keith are gratified to see that the response is mostly positive. 

They end up making a vegetarian meal based on a traditional Olkari recipe. When Roberta stops by Keith and Shiro's station, she raises an eyebrow in question. 

"I'm hardly in a position to tell _you_ how similar yours turned out to the original. What do you think?"

Keith and Shiro meet each other's eyes and shrug. 

"It's pretty close," Keith says. 

"Though ours is a little heavy on the black pepper," Shiro adds. Keith pouts, and Shiro laughs, wrapping his floating arm around Keith's waist while the other fiddles with something in his pocket. "Which is just fine," he clarifies. 

Later that night as they're curled up against each other in bed, sated in more ways than one, Keith brings Shiro's hand up to his lips, pressing a kiss to Shiro's knuckles. 

"Is it weird that I'm kind of sad the classes are almost done?" he asks.

Shiro shifts against him and makes a questioning noise. "Did you uncover a secret love of cooking? I'm sure Hunk would be happy to continue your instruction," he points out.

"Not the cooking," Keith says, laughing a little. "Though it's not as annoying as I expected it to be. It's just been… really nice having some time for us. No Garrison, no lions, no team. Just us, doing something normal."

Shiro leans in, pressing a kiss to Keith's bare shoulder, mouthing briefly at the freckles there before pulling back enough to reply. "I've enjoyed that, too. We can always do other things, you know."

Keith yawns, then buries his face in Shiro's chest. "Yeah," he agrees sleepily. "Anything is fun, if it's with you." 

The simple way he says it, as if it's one of the basic truths of the universe, warms Shiro straight through. He ends up lying awake for almost another hour, watching the love of his life sleep and thinking about next week's class.

* * *

The final week of class involves a full three-course meal — salad, main course, and dessert. Shiro is incredibly focused, following the recipe cards as if they're a mission brief with hundreds of lives on the line, measuring each line item twice and double-checking the instructions before each step. Keith seems a bit taken aback by his intensity, but steps up his own game in response, chopping each vegetable in perfect uniform shapes and taking the onions off the heat the very _second_ they turn a perfectly even caramelized brown.

They work like a perfectly coordinated team in their tiny kitchen, passing utensils and ingredients without even having to ask for them and moving around each other as if it were a carefully coordinated dance. 

Everything comes out perfect. 

The salad is a bright, vibrant green with the perfect balance of toppings. The chicken is roasted to a beautiful golden-brown, topped with caramelized onions and served with pan-fried garlic green beans and roasted carrots. Dessert is a cherry pie, and they'd even gone to the trouble of weaving a lattice across the top.

The meal is served at a communal table shared with all the other students. Roberta seems genuinely impressed with their offering when she comes around, especially with the perfect consistency of the pie crust. 

"I'm going to be honest, boys," she says, beaming. "I was a little worried about you two at the beginning, but you really pulled through. Good job."

"So you'd say we passed?" Shiro asked. 

"Well, this isn't really that sort of class," Roberta says, laughing. "But if it _were_ , yes, I'd say you passed with flying colors."

"Okay," Shiro says, taking a deep breath. 

Keith frowns, concerned. "Shiro, you alright?"

"Yes," Shiro replies instantly. "I'm fine, just-" He stands, digging in the pocket of his jeans for a moment. Keith is moving as if to stand with him when Shiro goes down on a knee.

"Shiro?" Keith repeats. "What's-" The words die in his throat as he catches sight of what Shiro's holding — a ring box. 

The room goes quiet around them as the other students realize something's happening.

"You were joking, once," Shiro starts haltingly. "You said, if only I could cook, I'd be the perfect man." He looks up to meet Keith's eyes, smiling a little. "You and I both know that isn't true — I'm far from perfect. I leave my wet towels on the floor and snore and have awful morning breath. But I can cook now, at least a few things, so I guess I'm a little closer. Not close enough, because you deserve _perfection_ , but if you'll marry me, I swear I'll keep trying, for as long as you'll let me."

Keith's silent for a devastatingly long moment, and when he finally speaks, all he can manage to breathe is, " _Shiro_."

Shiro swallows hard and tries again, asking bluntly, "Keith, will you marry me?"

"Yes," Keith says with conviction, reaching past the proffered ring box to grasp at Shiro's shirt, hauling him up and in for a hard kiss. " _Yes_ ," he says again when they part, breathless and smiling so wide his face hurts. 

The next day, Keith laughs out loud when he receives the recipe for 'Proposal Chicken' in his email. Within a week, the recipe is printed out and framed in the kitchen he shares with Shiro.

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/B1ackPa1adins)!


End file.
